“It’s a start,” she replied. “A good start. Just give him a chance. But, I do like how you’re putting your foot down. Don’t let any guy, shifter or not, walk all over you.”
I huffed. “I know that. Now.”
“Good. Got an outfit for karaoke tonight?” she asked, switching topics.
Cody’s had karaoke once a month. Natalie knew I loved to sing and had put my name down with Cody weeks ago to be on the list to perform. She’d even told the other girls, Audrey, her sister Marina, and the others whose men were part of Wolf Ranch, to come and watch. Maybe participate, too. It was the first time I’d be singing anywhere outside of my shower since I moved here.
Not since the last time I’d performed when Marty made an ugly scene over the guys whistling for me while I was on stage in a mini-skirt. He’d hauled me out of there and berated me the entire way home. Told me I couldn’t perform in public anymore, even though he’d been the one who offered to support me to get my music career off the ground.
“Um, I don’t think I have to wear anything special for karaoke,” I countered, thinking maybe jeans and a thick turtleneck sweater.
Her eyes widened. “Not for karaoke but your big night? Definitely.” She tipped her chin. “The guys are plowing the drive. When it’s all clear, we’ll go shopping in town and find you something to make you feel like the music star I know you are. Plus, we want to knock Boone’s socks off, right?”
I couldn’t help the grin. “Yes. To both.”
She clapped her hands.
“Oh, I can’t wait to see his face when he hears you sing. That man’s gonna fall like a tree in the woods. Hard and fast. Honey, hope you have lots of panties because he’s gonna rip through them all.”
Heat flooded my body. Oh my. And, yes, please.
13
BOONE
* * *
I pulled up and parked my truck at Cody’s after the longest fucking day of my life.
Being away from my unmarked mate drove my wolf insane. Because of that, I’d needed to shift and run so badly that I’d driven back up the mountain and let my wolf out.
Even that hadn’t done much to relieve the pressure inside me, so I’d taken my axe and chopped a cord of wood from trees I’d felled and hauled then loaded it into the back of my truck to deliver to the hardware store in Cooper Valley.
Now, it was finally evening, the wood unloaded and sold. I could see Summer again, according to the rules Rand set up for me.
He told me I had to give her space today. Wait for karaoke tonight at Cody’s to see her again.
I did that. Now, I finally got to set eyes on Summer. Drink in her scent.
She wasn’t working tonight, which meant I could steal her away afterward, if she’d let me.
But I had no idea if she’d be okay with us together two nights in a row.
The fact that Rand thought it necessary to drag me away from her this morning proved I didn’t know what I was doing with her.
She was attracted to me. I knew that from the way she looked. The way her scent changed when I touched her. I knew I’d pleased her sexually. But she’d had some trauma, and Rand said I was coming on too strong. Cody’d said that, too. He had told me to let her lead.
I could do math equations in my head. I could argue the ethics behind genetic engineering. I could calculate the GDP of multiple foreign countries and the impacts that had on stock market fluctuations.
But I couldn’t figure out what to do with Summer. How to act and talk, so I didn’t scare her off. I felt… like an idiot.
“Fuck!” I shouted in the confines of my truck cab. I was a shifter. A huge one. When my wolf finally scented his mate, I had to go against every instinct I had to keep her. It wasn’t brains, it was biology.
I had to keep a chokehold on my wolf. Had to figure out how to be “chill” with her, as my brother would say.
I got out of the truck and scanned the lot for Summer’s old beat-up Subaru. I didn’t like her driving that thing. It was over fifteen years old and didn’t have the latest safety features that kept humans protected in an accident. At least it was a good all-weather car and probably fairly dependable, but I was going to put her in something newer. An SUV, maybe, so she’d have room to drive our future pups around and make it up the mountain roads with ease.
Did she want pups? Did I? She said she was on the pill, but seeing my cum slip from her pussy made me think about how it would take some time to get her pregnant.
